A TikTok user’s negative experience at a Chicago bar has become the subject of scrutiny online after the business sued the patron and shared security video to dispute her account.
In a now-deleted video, Julia Reel said a security guard at Hubbard Inn was “grabbing” and “manhandling” her and a friend while escorting them off the premises on March 10. She also said a guard pushed her, sending her “flying down the staircase” of the bar. (NBC News reviewed Reel’s video, which others have reposted on TikTok after it was removed.)
The owners of Hubbard Inn filed a defamation lawsuit against Reel on Monday.
Reel’s viral videos resulted in “damages to the business, staff and reputation,” as well as “considerable negative reviews and messages,” the bar said in a TikTok video on March 13. The bar’s owners echoed a similar claim in the lawsuit, a copy of which has been reviewed by NBC News, saying they lost $30,000 in business because of Reel’s video.
The bar posted its video on TikTok attempting to dispute Reel’s account by sharing security video of two women, who the business claims are Reel and her friend, being led out of the bar by a security guard who does not appear to be touching either of them. The video, which received over 3 million views on TikTok, also shows the women walking down the bar’s staircase with the guard.
Reel did not respond to a request for comment. Almost all of her videos — including ones detailing her experience — have been wiped from her page. Only one TikTok video remains up: a statement from her attorneys posted Saturday alleging that she sustained a concussion and multiple lacerations from bar security.
The differing accounts have sent the internet into a speculation frenzy — with many sharing their unconfirmed theories online in an attempt to decipher what happened. Some questioned Reel’s story because of the video released by Hubbard Inn. Others cautioned against drawing any definitive conclusions about the dispute.
Consumers often use TikTok to share their negative experiences with businesses. However, Reel’s video has underscored the consequences that can occur after people air their accusations on the platform.
Viral complaints are often intended to raise awareness for future customers, but they can also lead to hate comments, harassment and even review bombing — meaning the flooding of a business’s page with negative reviews. It can be difficult for small businesses to manage backlash after a negative storytime video — a genre of content that features creators directly telling the audience about something they’ve experienced — blows up. But other times, a business will issue a response that redirects the scrutiny toward the original poster, which can turn a storytime video into an opportunity for armchair sleuthing.
Reel received backlash following Hubbard Inn’s TikTok report and subsequent lawsuit. While the comments on her TikTok video are turned off, numerous posts on X and comments under Hubbard Inn’s video celebrated the bar’s lawsuit and encouraged others to get Reel fired from her job.
Attorneys for Reel called Hubbard Inn’s video “misleading” and “self-serving.” They also said the bar was missing two minutes of video and asked the public to refrain from judgment until “all of the evidence is presented in a court of law.” Hubbard Inn disputes that it is missing two minutes of video in its lawsuit, saying, “Any ‘gap’ in the video coverage in Hubbard Inn’s post was approximately 45 seconds; but, to be clear, there is no security camera footage that supports Defendant’s false claims of assault.”
Reel's attorneys did not respond to a request for comment about whether Reel is taking legal action against Hubbard Inn.
“We will have no additional comment during the pendency of litigation,” Bill Gibbs, a partner at the personal injury law firm Corboy & Demetrio, which is representing Reel, said in a statement. “The civil justice system is well equipped to resolve the disputes between the parties.”
The Chicago Sun-Times reported that Reel filed a police report that said she was assaulted by a security guard and went to a hospital to treat injuries including a “bruised up arm and head.” The newspaper said police had not made any arrests as of Monday. The Chicago Police Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment from NBC News.
The lawsuit filed by the owners of Hubbard Inn claims Reel was being verbally abusive to staff members, causing her to be removed from the establishment. The bar accused her of knowingly making false accusations.
The business also claims that it tried to contact Reel about her TikTok video, which it said received over 100,000 views, but that she did not respond. The lawsuit said Reel’s video led to 12 group cancellations, negative Yelp reviews and threatening messages aimed at the business.
“We are a small business and staff is family, which is why we had no choice but to take this step after they posted another video attacking our establishment,” a spokesperson for Hubbard Inn said in a statement.
The case is scheduled for a court date May 23, according to the Cook County Circuit Court website.
